State Clears Basin St. Underpass Conrail Negotiations Are Only Holdup Now

January 08, 1991|by GERARD M. SHIELDS, The Morning Call

Allentown officials have a green light from the state Department of Transportation for the Basin Street underpass, but are now hung up over negotiations with Conrail that are expected to delay bids by about three months.

City officials say they have been negotiating with Conrail officials since August about a sliver of Conrail land on the western side of the crossing that is needed for the project.

"That's somewhat beyond our control," said Allentown Public Works Director Neal Kern. "We can call these guys all we want, but we're somewhat at their mercy."

Conrail officials said they are still working out cost estimates on the project. Design changes to the project by city engineers have also delayed the two sides reaching a conclusion, Conrail officials said.

"At this point, it looks like we're both still doing our homework," said Conrail spokeswoman Jean Kirshenbaum. "From our point of view, Conrail and Allentown have been working closely to complete an acceptable plan."

Last month, PennDOT released $1.3 million in federal funds for the underpass. The underpass would relieve traffic jams that occur whenever a train passes across Basin Street, which connects South Allentown and Interstate 78 with Route 22 and Center City.

The $7.6 million project, which was supposed to be completed in 1991, has been long-delayed because of state funding snafus. The federal government is committing $4.8 million to the project. Lehigh County offered $300,000 and the city is required to kick in another $1.2 million.

The state initially agreed to provide $600,000 to the project. But because of delays, the price increased to $1.3 million and the state said it didn't have the money.

In order to get the state funds, three area highway projects had to be delayed. Allentown agreed to delay reconstruction of Jefferson Street and Easton put off a $500,000 reconstruction of Lafayette Street. The Joint Planning Commission of Lehigh-Northampton Counties consented to delaying a traffic study in the area of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Airport.

The city is also negotiating with Conrail over who will maintain the underpass when it is completed. The city said it hopes to turn the underpass over to Conrail.

Once terms can be met between Conrail and the city, the state Public Utilities Commission would have to approve any transaction because the project involves interstate rail lines. Kern said he doesn't expect any problem's with the PUC approval.

The city also has to negotiate purchasing land from one more property owner, David Anthony. The city wants a tract of land 5 to 10 feet wide that fronts Anthony's property on the southeast side of the crossing.

The negotiations with Anthony, who owns a trucking company, were delayed because the city scaled back its initial Basin Street plans.

City officials said they expect construction on Basin Street to begin in late spring or early summer. The project would then take about 18 months to complete, Kern said.

"The hurdles are no longer big hurdles, they're small hurdles, Kern said. "But we still have to cross them."